Preserving Our Canyons

Our role...

The Saddleback Canyons Conservancy is part of the coalition of environmental groups that supported renewed Measure M, a 1/2 cent sales tax in Orange County. Funds from Measure M have been used to acquire key open space properties rich in biological resources throughout Orange County. Four of these properties are in Trabuco Canyon (Ferber Ranch, Hafen, O’Neill Oaks, and SaddleCreek South), one is in Silverado Canyon (MacPherson), and the other is in Brea (Hayashi).

Details including acreages and key resources on these properties are here:

Name Changes...

OCTA Reveals New Names for Wilderness Preserves

February 26, 2018

ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority announced the new names of the agency’s seven open space preserves, aiming to highlight the regional and environmental significances of each property that will remain protected from development forever.

The names were revealed during an OCTA-led hike on Saturday at Wren’s View Preserve in Trabuco Canyon, which was previously called O’Neill Oaks. The other properties are now called:

“Renaming these wilderness preserves demonstrates OCTA’s continued commitment to protecting natural resources at the same time we make needed improvements to our freeways,” said OCTA Chairwoman Lisa Bartlett, also the Fifth District County Supervisor. “These properties were previously slated for development, but thanks to OCTA’s innovative approach and collaboration with the environmental community, they will remain pristine for generations to come.”

In the month leading up to the hike, members of the public were able to vote online to rename the properties. Many of the original names were named for the families that once owned the land.

The seven open space properties, totaling 1,300 acres, have been purchased from willing sellers through OCTA’s Freeway Environmental Mitigation Program for the purpose of preserving them. The program allocates funds from Measure M, the county’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, to acquire land and fund habitat restoration projects in exchange for streamlined approvals of freeway improvement projects throughout Orange County.

The program is a comprehensive effort to offset the environmental impacts of the freeway construction projects by preserving large swaths of valuable habitat, to protect the plant species and rare animals that live on the land and provide connectivity to other natural lands.

A total of 12 restoration projects have also been funded throughout the county to restore existing conservation lands to their native state. Approximately $30 million has been spent on acquisitions and $10 million on more than 350 acres of habitat restoration activities.

For more information on OCTA’s open space properties or to sign up for a future guided hike, visit preservingourlegacy.org.